In and Out
by Dexteria
Summary: The manipulation of breathing. TemaShika Oneshot


A sense of heaviness filled her chest, giving her the slight panic of not being able to breathe, but it faded away as easily as did her own fatigue. It was as if the days and weeks of fatigue had settled in and taken over every muscle, vessel, and nerve in her body. The result was a numbing sensation that paralyzed her mind, willing her eyes to close and then to have lead placed on them along with every other limb underneath her cotton sheets.

There was only a slight awareness that breathing was already being managed by her body's automatic need for oxygen. But the trickle of oxygen that flowed through her body wasn't her concern anymore. More or less, it was trying to keep her mind as black as possible. Keeping it dim and dark to the point where there was nothing to be seen and which would stay that way for another good moment or so.

"Is it working for you?" Came a low voice near her ear, making Temari take a particularly large intake of oxygen before a twitch that represented a seed of a scowl to happen. At the moment, her tongue and mouth felt so heavy that all she could do was ignore the voice, concentrating on the black void that filled her mental vision.

She was even too tired to return the brush of lips dotting the shell of her ears or to protest the smooth slide of sun-kissed skin against olive-toned one as an arm moved her fatigue infected body closer to the warmth to her right. Even at the warm breathing that flowed from her forehead to tickle her nose, she failed to react, only letting her lips part open in a natural movement to invite the sweet smelling breath into her senses.

"You can't hold it for that long."

In.

"It was only a suggestion. Don't take it to heart."

Out.

"Don't resort to desperate measures, woman."

In.

"I love you."

It always got her. Those three words, that finally made her open her eyes and give out a sigh of annoyance before kick-starting her muscles to punch Shikamaru in the shoulder, invoking a rather high pitched voiced protest against the sudden violence.

"When I say I want to sleep in, you better damn well heed my words and leave me _alone_," Temari snapped as she pushed herself off the bed, brushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes and then leaning down to grab a fistful of black to look up at her. "You're the bastard that suggested in the first place that we'd sleep in and forget about the meeting today and here you are, whining away." Black irises broadened around a faint blue ring as Shikamaru reached up and grabbed his own fistful of sun yellow.

"Sure, I said that, but then I factored in the tempers of both the Hokage and Kazekage's combined, then squared that amount with the realization that both the princess of Sand and the strategist of Leaf would be missing from this briefing. Not to mention raising the power to an "x" amount that would be positive, seeing that the Sand princess has some rather strong blood ties to said Kazekage and the said Leaf nin has none to the Hokage. Which equates to one very dead man and a reprimanding glare from your brother. I think for the safety of said Leaf nin who's the –"

Tightly locked lips sealed off Shikamaru's lazy voice that filled up the air as Temari quickly used the leverage given to her by her fist in his hair to bring his head halfway to shut him up.

"Shut up, smart ass. I don't remember you talking that much in the mornings and I don't plan on finding that out now." After another roughly delivered kiss, Temari pulled Shikamaru's bare chest towards her as she wrapped her arms around his midsection, burying her head into his chest.

Shikamaru grinned silently, letting his hand rest on the hip of the woman that had just lectured him on sleeping in yesterday. Only when he brought up a technique that involved deep breathing techniques that would make her sleep better, did Temari finally relented. And obviously became an addict to this lazy invention of his.

"Just don't kill me so much when you find out that there is no meeting today. Just a message to get your ass home as soon as possible," Shikamaru muttered to Temari's already sleeping form before closing his own eyes and letting her deep breathing sounds pull him deeper into sleep once again.


End file.
